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SCREENSHOTS

GET TO KNOW ELLIS

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Can you describe the extent of any relevant work experience you might have?

Before starting university, I had the incredible opportunity to spend a month working at Aardman Animations as a runner, where I supported various departments and gained insight into the day-to-day workings of a professional animation studio. Since then, I have taken part in collaborative game jams as a temporary 3D artist, contributing to asset creation and working with others to shape the visual direction. I’ve also been independently working on other personal indie game projects and competing in other 3D competitions to keep a broad range of skills fresh, all alongside my studies at Escape.

How would you describe your contribution to your group project?

In the group project Kang, My role was as a Character Artist, which included modelling the NPCs and their clothing, rigging them for animation, and setting up the blueprint system that enabled extensive customisation. This system handled everything from animation blending and prop variations to head tracking, allowing characters to dynamically respond to the player or elements in the environment, like a television. I also created master materials that allowed for tinting and decal variation, ensuring that no two characters looked the same.

Beyond characters, I took on the role of foliage artist, designing the bamboo, trees, grass, bushes, and other flora in the environment. To achieve the stylized visual aesthetic inspired by Sifu, I edited normals and developed a custom master material that removed self-shadowing on leaves, enhancing the clean, illustrative style.

Additionally, I supported prop creation by making delivery trucks, hanging clothes and other assets to help populate the scene and bring the world to life.

What do you specialise in and what made you choose that specialism? 

I specialise in character art. I originally chose this as my focus because of how expressive and storytelling-driven it is. I love that a single image of a character can communicate so much personality, history, or emotion without needing any words. As I developed my skills and explored other roles, I found that character art was the one area that consistently challenged me in new and interesting ways. Every time I start a new character, there’s something different to figure out, and that constant learning is what keeps me hooked. Whether it’s improving my understanding of anatomy, experimenting with creature design, or picking up new tricks in ZBrush, there’s always something to push further and that makes it so rewarding.

What would your ideal first role in the industry be? 

A Junior Character Artist at a studio full of passionate, creative people.

Which of your student projects are you most proud of, and why?

My final project, Kang, is something I'm particularly proud of not just because of the large workload I took on, but because of how well our team came together. Everyone contributed meaningfully, and we built a strong, shared vision that captured the spirit of the Sifu art style while making it our own. The collaboration made the whole experience incredibly rewarding.

I'm also proud of my Demon Hunter photoreal character. It was an ambitious project with a tight deadline, and it pushed me to learn a lot in a short space of time from sculpting pore-level detail to creating and placing hair cards. More than anything, it gave me confidence in my ability to tackle challenging projects from start to finish.

What’s a piece of media (film, game, animation) that changed the way you think about your discipline? 

The original Star Wars trilogy, has some of the best visual storytelling ever

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